Personalization of common, everyday items has gained popularity in recent times. From online blogging to crafting supply stores, there has been a surge in interest of self-expression with these items. This interest has been responded to by many manufacturers offering many different styles of similar products. For example, blankets are typically sold in a multitude of different shapes and colors.
One-way self-expression has emerged is with hand-knit blankets. Crafters have the ability of selecting different yarns or materials and can create a blanket that is as unique as they are. These types of blankets can be quite time consuming in their creation and also take a considerable amount of skill. As a result, custom blanket making is a fairly niche market enjoyed by people with ample free time, specialized tooling, and a certain level of skill.
When custom blankets are created, they represent the creator's mindset at the time of the creation. Much like a blank canvas imprinted with paints, the personalized blanket is a snapshot in time. While a snapshot in time preserves something in the past, it does not lend itself the ability to adapt and change for different occasions.
Adaptability is somewhat unique in the crafting industry. Typically, custom blankets need to have patches sewn on, or other materials knit into the textile to add to or modify the creation. This presents yet another hurdle one must traverse to further preserve the ability to self-express. More specialized tools, free time, and artistic abilities are required to modify the blanket at a later date.
What is therefore needed is way to enable people to create custom, personalized blankets in a short amount of time. What is also needed is the ability to create the personalized blanket without any special tools. This ability should also be simple to accomplish for people of varying levels of skill and artistic ability. Finally, what is needed is the ability to personalize the blanket and continue to effortlessly modify the personalization at a later date without any specialized tooling. In sum, what is needed is an improved blanket that is adapted for on-going personalization in a number of ways without tooling or specialized skills.